I thought it might be good to have a thread on 'True Stories',relating to anything, providing they are authentic with some related evidence .There must be many who see and hear unusual accounts which they might like to share.So long as they are not volumes, I think members would enjoy reading them. Personal stories would also be interesting. The following story is one which is rather unusual, so you may like to read about it.
* * *

In a zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth
to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs.
Unfortunately, Due to complications in the pregnancy,
the cubs were born prematurely
and due to their tiny size,
they died shortly after birth.
The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery,
suddenly started to decline in health, Although physically she was fine.
The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter
had caused the tigress to fall into a depression.
The doctors decided
that if the tigress could surrogate
another mother's cubs,
perhaps she would improve.
After checking with many other zoos across the country,
the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs
of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother..
The veterinarians decided to try something
that had never been tried in a zoo environment.
Sometimes a mother of one species
will take on the care of a different species.
The only orphans' that could be found quickly,
were a litter of weanling pigs.
The zoo keepers and vets
wrapped the piglets in tiger skin
and placed the babies around the mother tiger...
Would they become cubs or pork chops?
Take a look...you won't believe your eyes

FABULOUS Granny . Loved this one and think its a great idea for a thread . *racks brains for material*

what a lovely story about nature, love it!!

Photoshop?

Is it, how do you know?

Well, just had a look of Hoax-Slayer, the pictures are good, but the story is wrong!
So that's the first attempt in the bin! Ha!


The photographs were actually taken at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Thailand and not in California. The zoo is renowned for its rather bizarre cross-species displays. According to a 2004 article in the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly:

Why would it be photoshop.....it could happen.....either way a lovely story

some ones is telling PORKIES !?...

The Truth:
The pictures are not from a zoo in California but the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Thailand, a popular attraction that boasts of 200 tigers, 100,000 crocodiles, trained pigs, elephants, and other animals. The zoo features creative shows and displays of animals including these pictures of an adult tiger with piglets dressed like tiger cubs. One of the goals of the zoo is to demonstrate how animals of different species can live peacefully together. One of the experiments was introducing baby piglets to a mother tiger (who herself had been nursed by a pig) and it worked. At one time the mother tiger nursing piglets was in an enclosure next to an enclosure where a sow was nursing baby tigers. The zoo says those cubs grew faster from the pig's milk.

This is true... A rather remarkable woman!

IRENA SENDLER

When Hitler and his Nazis built the Warsaw Ghetto and herded 500,000 Polish Jews behind its walls to await liquidation, many Polish gentiles turned their backs or applauded. Not Irena Sendler. An unfamiliar name to most people, but this remarkable woman defied the Nazis and saved 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto. As a health worker, she sneaked the children out between 1942 and 1943 to safe hiding places and found non-Jewish families to adopt them.

Today the old woman, gentle and courageous, is living a modest existence in her Warsaw apartment - an unsung heroine.

Her achievement went largely unnoticed for many years. Then the story was uncovered by four young students at Uniontown High School, in Kansas, who were the winners of the 2000 Kansas state National History Day competition by writing a play Life in a Jar about the heroic actions of Irena Sendler. The girls - Elizabeth Cambers, Megan Stewart, Sabrina Coons and Janice Underwood - have since gained international recognition, along with their teacher, Norman Conard. The presentation, seen in many venues in the United States and popularized by National Public Radio, C-SPAN and CBS, has brought Irena Sendler's story to a wider public.

The students continue their prize-winning dramatic presentation Life in a Jar. They have established an e-mail address [email protected].

Irena Sendler was born in 1910 in Otwock, a town some 15 miles southeast of Warsaw. She was greatly influenced by her father who was one of the first Polish Socialists. As a doctor his patients were mostly poor Jews.

In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and the brutality of the Nazis accelerated with murder, violence and terror.

At the time, Irena was a Senior Administrator in the Warsaw Social Welfare Department, which operated the canteens in every district of the city. Previously, the canteens provided meals, financial aid, and other services for orphans, the elderly, the poor and the destitute. Now, through Irena, the canteens also provided clothing, medicine and money for the Jews. They were registered under fictitious Christian names, and to prevent inspections, the Jewish families were reported as being afflicted with such highly infectious diseases as typhus and tuberculosis.

But in 1942, the Nazis herded hundreds of thousands of Jews into a 16-block area that came to be known as the Warsaw Ghetto. The Ghetto was sealed and the Jewish families ended up behind its walls, only to await certain death.

Irena Sendler was so appalled by the conditions that she joined Zegota, the Council for Aid to Jews, organized by the Polish underground resistance movement, as one of its first recruits and directed the efforts to rescue Jewish children.

To be able to enter the Ghetto legally, Irena managed to be issued a pass from Warsaws Epidemic Control Department and she visited the Ghetto daily, reestablished contacts and brought food, medicines and clothing. But 5,000 people were dying a month from starvation and disease in the Ghetto, and she decided to help the Jewish children to get out.

For Irena Sendler, a young mother herself, persuading parents to part with their children was in itself a horrendous task. Finding families willing to shelter the children, and thereby willing to risk their life if the Nazis ever found out, was also not easy.

Irena Sendler, who wore a star armband as a sign of her solidarity to Jews, began smuggling children out in an ambulance. She recruited at least one person from each of the ten centers of the Social Welfare Department.

With their help, she issued hundreds of false documents with forged signatures. Irena Sendler successfully smuggled almost 2,500 Jewish children to safety and gave them temporary new identities.

Some children were taken out in gunnysacks or body bags. Some were buried inside loads of goods. A mechanic took a baby out in his toolbox. Some kids were carried out in potato sacks, others were placed in coffins, some entered a church in the Ghetto which had two entrances. One entrance opened into the Ghetto, the other opened into the Aryan side of Warsaw. They entered the church as Jews and exited as Christians. "Can you guarantee they will live?" Irena later recalled the distraught parents asking. But she could only guarantee they would die if they stayed. "In my dreams," she said, "I still hear the cries when they left their parents."

Irena Sendler accomplished her incredible deeds with the active assistance of the church. "I sent most of the children to religious establishments," she recalled. "I knew I could count on the Sisters." Irena also had a remarkable record of cooperation when placing the youngsters: "No one ever refused to take a child from me," she said.

The children were given false identities and placed in homes, orphanages and convents. Irena Sendler carefully noted, in coded form, the children's original names and their new identities. She kept the only record of their true identities in jars buried beneath an apple tree in a neighbor's back yard, across the street from German barracks, hoping she could someday dig up the jars, locate the children and inform them of their past.

In all, the jars contained the names of 2,500 children ...

But the Nazis became aware of Irena's activities, and on October 20, 1943 she was arrested, imprisoned and tortured by the Gestapo, who broke her feet and legs. She ended up in the Pawiak Prison, but no one could break her spirit. Though she was the only one who knew the names and addresses of the families sheltering the Jewish children, she withstood the torture, refusing to betray either her associates or any of the Jewish children in hiding.

Sentenced to death, Irena was saved at the last minute when Zegota members bribed one of the Germans to halt the execution. She escaped from prison but for the rest of the war she was pursued by the Gestapo.

After the war she dug up the jars and used the notes to track down the 2,500 children she placed with adoptive families and to reunite them with relatives scattered across Europe. But most lost their families during the Holocaust in Nazi death camps.

The children had known her only by her code name Jolanta. But years later, after she was honored for her wartime work, her picture appeared in a newspaper. "A man, a painter, telephoned me," said Sendler, "`I remember your face,' he said. `It was you who took me out of the ghetto.' I had many calls like that!"

Irena Sendler did not think of herself as a hero. She claimed no credit for her actions. "I could have done more," she said. "This regret will follow me to my death."

She has been honored by international Jewish organizations - in 1965 she accorded the title of Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem organization in Jerusalem and in 1991 she was made an honorary citizen of Israel.

Irena Sendler was awarded Poland's highest distinction, the Order of White Eagle in Warsaw Monday Nov. 10, 2003.

This lovely, courageous woman was one of the most dedicated and active workers in aiding Jews during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Her courage enabled not only the survival of 2,500 Jewish children but also of the generations of their descendants.

She passed away on May 12, 2008, at the age of 98.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/irenasendler.html

Exceptionally brave woman.

Those pigs would be eaten instantly lol. It's photoshop.

Shame the story doesnt ring true, but the real story behind the tigers and piglets is still interesting, nice pics too.

OINK OINK OINK!...looks like ones escaped?

Come on chaps, move on now, trot along.

Simon of the HMS Amethyst - Bravery Under Fire

Able Seacat Simon, as he was to become known, was smuggled aboard the HMS Amethyst by Ordinary Seaman George Hickinbottom in 1948. The HMS Amethyst had called into Hong Kong for supplies and was docked at Stonecutter's Island, and Hickinbottom took a liking to him.

Thankfully, the captain, Lt Cdr Ian Griffiths, did as well once he was discovered and he was able to remain onboard. It didn't take long before the captain and the cat gained a rapport, with Simon presenting himself at the captain's whistle, and sleeping in his hat whilst in the cabin. Simon remained onboard catching mice and endearing himself to the crew even after Griffiths was replaced with Lt Cdr Skinner.

It seems as though Simon had a good run on the Amethyst, and Skinner gave Simon exactly the same privileges as Griffiths had done, including sleeping in his hat, although Simon would not come to his whistle.

On 20th April 1949 the Amethyst was ordered to travel up the Yangtze River and replace the HMS Consort, which was guarding the British Embassy from Communist insurgents. They came under fire from the communists who did not recognise the British treaty with the Nationalists. The shots missed, but an hour up river they came under heavy fire once more, and these shots did not miss. Captain Skinner was killed in his cabin, and Simon, asleep there as well was severely injured. He was found a few days later, hiding under some debris.

While Simon was hiding the ship was refloated and managed to make its way beyond the guns, but was hopelessly stuck in the river mud. By then there was only a minimum of crew onboard, those who could be moved were, including the injured. The Amethyst had taken such a battering from the shore batteries that only one lifeboat survived in order to move the injured. The worst injured remained onboard -- there was nowhere else to go. The British managed to fly in a medical officer and a new commander for the Amethyst, which remained stuck in position as all attempts at rescue were pushed back. By the time Simon was found and taken to the sickbay all those who could be treated had been.

Simon had burns to his face, and four separate shrapnel wounds. He was not expected to survive, but survive he did. After a few days rest he was up and about again, albeit slowly moving. He divided his time between catching rats and visiting the wounded who could not be moved. In their position on the Yangtze rats were easily able to get onboard the ship, and with provisions running low as the siege dragged on, they could not afford to lose any to onboard rodents. His attention to the wounded also gave them hope in what was a desperate situation for all concerned.

On July 30, 1949 the Amethyst made a desperate dash for freedom under the cover of darkness. Even though she did come under fire she managed to get free, 101 days after the initial barrage. Simon, for his efforts was awarded the rank of Able Seacat, and given the Amethyst Campaign Ribbon. His fame spread, and he was nominated for the Dickin Award. This is the equivalent of a VC for animals. He is the only cat to receive the award.

Simon's fame spread far and wide, and as he waited in quarantine for entry into Britain he received toys, and fanmail. He had his own carer because of all the attention. Unfortunately, while in quarantine, he caught a virus. His heart was already weakened by his service injuries and gave out. He died on 28th November 1949.

He was posthumously awarded the Dickens Medal. The crew of the Amethyst were devastated by the news; and his obituary appeared in Time Magazine. He was buried with full Navy honours, as a true hero and friend.

Denver mailman mistakes corpse for Halloween decoration


The United States Postal Service acknowledged on Friday that one of its mail carriers did not report a corpse at a Denver home because he mistook the body for a Halloween display.

"We do know the carrier delivered mail to the house that day, and he remembered seeing something he thought was related to Halloween," the postal service said in a statement. "When the carrier learned that was not the case, he was shocked and extremely upset."

The local ABC News affiliate reported that the dead man, Dale Porch, 46, collapsed and died November 2 on his porch steps after returning home from his night shift job.

Relatives of Porch could not be reached for comment by Reuters.

The postal service called the incident "an unfortunate situation" that probably would not have happened any other time of year.

"Our carriers have a long history of assisting customers in neighborhoods across the country each and every day, and that holds true for our letter carriers here in Denver," the statement said.

The unidentified carrier is a "conscientious and dedicated employee" who remains on the job, the post office said, and any action that may be taken against him will be handled internally.

the link

what a fantastic brave cat!..

Eddtheduck.....sad, but Ha ha ha! Die on your front door step and nobody believes you!

That'll do, that'll do!

With regard to the Amethyst's cat. I knew and worked with Jack French who was the radio operator on the Amethyst who stayed behind and manned the radios during the dash. He was always regarded as the matelot who loved Herrings In, which is Herrings in Tomato Sauce, and he was always offered them wherever he went. In actual fact he hated Herrings In and it only came about because someone wrote it into the script of the film. He was still saddled with this anomoly though for the rest of his life. He was a very nice bloke by the way, a gentle giant.

Ah Bandy, what a privilage to know such a man.

Noted he only passed away last year. So, if you don't mind, I have copied this as a remembrance of the human bravery too, on the Amethyst.

'Modest' Jack won a medal for his role in Chinese siege .Friday, May 27, 2011 Gloucestershire Echo

Follow.NAVAL hero Jack French, who played a leading role in a famous Royal Navy incident, has died aged 84.

Mr French, 84, was the telegraphist on HMS Amethyst when she was trapped and shelled by the communist Chinese in the Yangtse River, sparking an international incident in 1949.

​SIEGE BRAVERY: Jack French, the telegraphist on HMS Amethyst in 1949 when she was trapped and shelled on the Yangtse River, for which he won a Distinguished Service Medal

​

​HERO’S WELCOME: Jack French gets a civic welcome on his return home.

•••..Born in Teignmouth, he later worked at GCHQ for many years and lived in Cheltenham. But it was in his younger years that he made his name.

The story of how HMS Amethyst escaped with all guns blazing and under fire from shore was immortalised in the film Yangtse Incident, which became a worldwide hit.

In America it was called Battle Hell, the Escape of the Amethyst.

Portrayed in the movie by character actor Ray Jackson, the star role played by Richard Todd, Mr French was the only communicator left on the crippled warship. He went without sleep for six days, aided by drugs, until contact was made with the communist commander. He was immediately awarded a Distinguished Service Medal, and ordered to rest.

Brother Tony, 82, who also served in the Royal Navy, said: "He was a quiet and modest man with a nice character, and never spoke much about the siege. But we were all extremely proud of him, and when he returned to Ashburton he was given a hero's welcome in the North Street square with flags flying and hundreds turning out."

Mr Taylor joined the Navy in 1942 aged 17, and served for 22 years in a variety of ships, leaving as a chief petty officer. In April 1949, Amethyst was taking supplies up the Yangtse to the beleaguered British Embassy in Nanking during the Chinese civil war.

But she came under heavy fire, receiving 50 hits, and was holed below the water line. The damage was patched up with hammocks and bedding, but she went aground.

In the night the frigate was refloated, but there was a 100-day stand-off with no fresh supplies as unsuccessful negotiations dragged on for her release.

Short of food and fuel, Lt Cdr Kerens made a 104-mile dash for freedom to the sea, running the gauntlet of artillery fire, barrier nets and block ships.

Two days later she reached Hong Kong, and the drama attracted headlines around the world.

Amethyst was battered, and 22 of the crew were killed and 31 wounded.

After his naval service, Mr French utilised his skills with GCHQ in Cheltenham, where he lived with his family. He died on May 4.

Lunchtime Weepy:


The amazing life story of the
Akita Inu named Hachiko

Hachiko (Waiting for Someone)
The tale of Hachiko is one of the saddest and most amazing true stories that I have ever heard. His life’s story has touched the hearts of dog lovers all over the world and his love and devotion endeared him to a nation earning him the titles Samurai Dog and Japanese Soul Dog. Hachiko’s life has been the basis for two movies, two books, countless newspaper/magazine and web page articles. There have been Paintings, Drawings, poems and a song inspired by Hachi’s life. In Japan three statues have been erected in his honor. Hachiko’s photo was used to represent the Akita Inu in an encyclopedia on dog breeds. There is an annual gathering April/08 in Tokyo at the Shibuya station to remember Hachi. He has even appeared in 3 video games and in 1994 thousands tuned into CBN to listen to a recording of Hachiko barking which was salvaged from an old record that had been broken into several pieces.

The story begins on November 10th 1923 when Hachiko (an Akita Inu) was born in Odate Japans, Akita Prefecture. Soon after he was weaned Hachi went to a man by the name of Hidesaburō Ueno who was a Professor of the Department of Agriculture at the Imperial University (Now the University of Tokyo)

Hachiko took to Professor Ueno very well and a strong bond quickly formed under his loving companionship. Each morning Hachi would accompany the Professor to the Shibuya train station where the Professor would take the train to work and Hachi would return home on his own. Hachi would then return to the train station in the evening just before the train was due to arrive waiting at the gate to greet the Professor as he exited the platform. For almost two years they continued this daily routine becoming well known by the commuters and regulars along their daily route forming a lasting impression on many who new them.

Tragically, Hachiko’s happy life as the loyal companion of Professor Ueno was not to last. On the 21st of May 1925 almost two years after Mr. Ueno and Hachi were united, Professor Hidesaburō Ueno suffered a sudden stroke while at a faculty meeting and sadly passed away.

There are two versions of what immediately followed the Professors death. One is that Hachi broke through a window to get into the parlor where the body was placed awaiting the funeral refusing to be moved. Another is that when it came time to place items in the coffin that the person had cared about Hachi jumped into the coffin resisting all attempts to remove him.

Hachiko was then sent to live with relatives of the Professor however he repeatedly ran away, returning to the house where Professor Ueno had once lived. Hachi eventually realizing that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the residence returned to the train station to search for him. Hachi would come each day to meet the train that the Professor had taken home from work so many times before. This demonstration of love and devotion so deeply touched many of those who had known the two of them together that many of them would feed him and bring him treats.

A student of Professor Ueno’s heard about Hachi’s vigil and came to Tokyo to meet this amazing dog and to write an article on him for the paper. Following Hachiko from the Shibuya Station he soon ended up at the home of Kikuzaboro Kobayashi who was the former gardener of Professor Ueno. The entire history of Hachiko’s life was revealed to him by Mr. Kobayashi and used in his newspaper article. Hachi quickly became a media sensation and his unwavering devotion made him a source of national pride. Many donated money to ensure that Hachi always had enough to eat. The citizens of Japan were so inspired by Hachi that they would use him as an example for their children to follow. “I will meet you at the Hachi” has become a common fraise meaning I will meet you at the train. In the years that followed, the Professors former student became fascinated with the Akita breed and did several articles about Hachi. In a census he found that only about 30 Akita Inu of pure blood lines remained of which Hachi was one.



In April 1934, a bronze statue bearing his likeness was erected at (what is now known as) Hachi’s Exit of the Shibuya Station and Hachiko himself was present at its unveiling. The new found fame however meant little to Hachiko who continued to wait for his beloved Professor Ueno day after day, month after month, year after year. The loyal Hachiko never wavered from his vigil, meeting the train each day for the rest of his life. On March 8th 1935 on a Shibuya side street Hachiko old and suffering from heart worms laid down, closed his eyes for the last time and finally rejoined his beloved human. Never again having to wait. Never again having to part. The story of Hachiko’s passing hit the papers the next day. Many thousands of people who had never even met Hachiko were deeply saddened by his loss. The living symbol of loving devotion was gone… and as a nation cried… a dog rejoiced!

Fare You Well… Hachiko

The total time Hachi spent waiting for the one that he loved and missed so “9 years 10 months”

thanks for that on Jack granny. I was down at Q myself for a year and never was fortunate to bump into him, a lost opportunity. It's got 2 sites and thousands of people anyway but I should've made more of an effort.

This is a True Story About My Alsatian Dog, Rex

I used to live in Southampton, England in the 1940s, and the local tram terminus was about 100 yards away from our front door.

One day, my mother got on the tram to go shopping. As she settled in her seat, she noticed that there were two dogs sitting alongside the driver - our dog Rex and his playmate - a little black mongrel called Mickey.

Mum asked the conductor "What are those dogs doing up there with the tram driver?" "Are they your dogs, madam?" the conductor asked.

"Well," said mum, "one of them is."

"Then madam," replied the conductor, "you owe Southampton Corporation Transport a few quid!" "Why?" asked my mother. The conductor replied: "Those two dogs get on a tram at this time every day and go to the recreation ground alongside the river. They have a good old run around and then catch another tram home!"

Mother could hardly believe it, but the tram began to move, and after three stops the two dogs alighted, crossed a fairly busy main road and disappeared into the local recreation ground and, presumably caught a later tram back home.

[Amusing dog story kindly sent in by Trevor Warland.]

Incredible photos of heroic mother dog carrying her ten-day-old puppies from a blazing home to safety
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 05:11, 11 August 2012 | UPDATED: 05:11, 11 August 2012
Comments (178) Share

..Touching pictures of a dog rescuing her ten-day-old puppies from a house fire and carrying them to safety have emerged on the internet.
The blaze broke out at a home in Santa Rosa de Temuco, Chile, on Thursday after a car bomb went off.

The mother dog - a German Shepherd mix called Amanda - risked her life to pick up the puppies in her mouth and carried them from the burning house to the safety of the fire truck.


She ran between the house and truck over and over again until all puppies were safe.
After rescuing all of her pups from the blaze, Amanda sat down next to them, protecting them with her body as the firefighters fought the blaze.
Amanda and her puppies were then taken to a vet where one puppy called Amparo, who had suffered severe burns, died.
More...'He saved MY life... I just want to help him in return': Owner of sick dog whose picture touched the nation's hearts reveals how loyal companion stopped him from suicide

The other four puppies were doing well.

The vet, Felipe Lara, told Soy Chile that Amanda had defended her puppies when they tried to take them away from her to care for them.


Safe: She gently placed the pups on the steps of the fire-truck as firefighters fought the blaze and protected them with her body

Eventually she let them check over her pups but she wanted to stay with ailing Amparo and did not want to let her from her sight.
The pictures first appeared on online social board reddit and quickly became the main story of the day.
Read more:
Murió uno de los cachorritos salvados de un incendio por una perra en Temuco | soychile.cl
MOST READ NEWS

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-blazing-home-safety.html#ixzz2E7VTzkr2
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Hope you don't find this too long but it is intriguing if you don't already know the story.

The Mysterious Death of Pope John Paul I [A Treatise]by Gregory Christiano (Age: 65)
copyright 07-04-2003


Age Rating: 13 +

_______________________________________________________

Pope John Paul I died only 33 days into his Pontificate (August 26, 1978 - September 28, 1978). It was one of the shortest reigns in the annals of the papacy. The official cause of death was myocardial infarction (a heart attack). But there was a great deal of confusion in the details of his sudden death, and many were crying - murder!

The "Smiling Pope," as he was affectionately called was born Albino Luciani on October 17, 1912 near Belluno, Italy. He was ordained in 1935, made Bishop in 1958 and became patriarch of Venice in 1969. He received his cardinal's hat in 1973. He was a staunch believer in ecumenism and the reduction of Church wealth. He was warm, humble and had no aspirations for the papacy. After Pope Paul VI died, Luciani was elected on the second day of the Conclave in 1978. He refused to wear the papal tiara or to be carried in the gestatorial chair. He was praised as a liberal reformer who read Mark Twain. He was on a mission to reverse the Church's position on contraception, cleaning up the Vatican bank and dismissing many Masonic cardinals.

A word here about the Masonic cardinals:

The P-2 Lodge, as it was called, was founded in 1877 to provide for provincial Freemasons - known as Propaganda Due (P-2). It became a secret lodge in 1970 to recruit men of right-wing persuasion to prevent a Communist takeover. It was involved in a financial scandal and its offices were raided and membership lists were found. Many heads of the Italian State services, government officials, police chiefs, businessmen, journalists etc. were listed. This organization was disbanded but still operated secretly. In fact, they are still operating within Vatican circles to this very day.

Many Roman clerics were hostile towards Luciani. It was rumored he was deliberately elected by cardinals keeping secrets that he was too weak to bother them and his health would cause him to die prematurely in office. However, to the surprise and consternation of those very same cardinals, Pope John Paul I immediately investigated the Vatican Bank and wanted to clean house of any prominent prelates who were Freemasons.

He was about to make a series of dismissals and new appointments and remove those accused of financial and other misdeeds. All this has been construed as a motive for his murder.

The Vatican Bank Scandal:

The Vatican Bank (or The Institute for Works of Religion - IOR), was personally owned and operated by the Pope and made loans to religious projects all over the world. It was discovered that the bank exploited its high status and engaged in risky speculation and illegal schemes, including money laundering. Money was invested with Robert Calvi, head of the bank in Milan. He was eventually convicted for currency fraud in 1981 - (over $1.3 billion dollars was missing from bank funds). Calvi fled to England where he was found dead, hanging from a bridge in London.

Another participant in the scandal was Michele Sindona, an advisor to Pope Paul VI. Sindona was poisoned in 1986 in his prison cell. This sordid financial fraud also was linked with the Masons, the Mafia, arms dealers, political kickbacks and monies funneled through the CIA to support Solidarity in Poland.

Was the Pope Poisoned?

Davis Yallop's book, "In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I," (1984), speculates that digitalis was the poison used. The Pope was taking medicine for low blood pressure, and just half a teaspoon of digitalis could cause a fatal heart attack. But the Pope also suffered from poor circulation and had suffered an eye embolism in 1975. Switching pills or forgetting to take medication could also have proven lethal. But it is uncertain who would have been able to slip the digitalis into the Pope's liquid medication - Effortil.

There are many contradictions surrounding his death. The initial report issued by Cardinal Villot said the Holy Father had been found dead by Sister Vincenzia and not by a secretary. One report had him dead in his bathroom, the other by his desk in his bedroom. There were also discrepancies about the time the body was found, 4:30 am or 5:30 am? The official estimates was that he died at 11pm on September 28th. No autopsy was performed. (The last Pope to be autopsied was Pius VII in 1830).

Another report stated the Pope complained of feeling sick but wouldn't call a doctor. He suffered a pain and a violent cough during that afternoon. It might have been a minor embolism. He was conferring with two secretaries around 8pm. After dinner, he rushed down the hallway to get a telephone call around 9:15 pm. This may have triggered the fatal heart attack. Both cases are plausible. But what really happened that night?

The Motives for Murder:

This spiritual leader of all the Roman Catholics, Albino Luciani, was actually embarking on a revolution. He wanted to set the Church in a new direction which was considered highly undesirable and dangerous by many high ranking Church officials.

He wanted, first of all, to strip many of powers by dismissing them or reassigning them into harmless positions. This directly involved the Freemasons. There were over one hundred Masons within Vatican City ranging from Cardinals to priests. Canon Law stated that to be a Freemason was grounds for automatic ex-communication. Six men in particular, stood to lose a great deal if Pope John Paul I remained in power. (These were - Marcinkus, Villot, Calvi, Sindona, Cody and Gelli). There was a suspicion of a conspiracy among these men with Villot the instigator and Gelli the executioner.

Motives for the Pope's murder were in these series of dismissals and new appointments he was about to make. The Pope also wanted the Church's wealth shared with the poor. He was also on the verge of reversing the Church's position on artificial birth control, as well as cleaning up the messy Vatican Bank scandal. He was about to approve the birth-control pill. In his "Humanae Vitae," he urged pastoral clergy acceptance of contraception and also acknowledged those children born by in-vitro fertilization. A remarkable and radical change from current Church policy, indeed.

Does this prove assassination by poisoning? The alleged conspirators tried to make it look like a natural death, according to Yallop. His Holiness' domestics, secretaries, doctors, Swiss Guards, police force and judiciary of the Italian State were forced into silence. Sindona, Calvi (The Banco Ambosiano Group), Marcinkus and Cardinal Cody stood to lose much if Albino Luciani were to carry out his specific course of action. There was a growing list of people about to be seriously affected by the purported action of the Pope, especially Cardinal Jean Villot, the Pope's Secretary of State. Bishop Marcinkus was to be replaced by Monsignor Abbo and Cardinal Villot was to be replaced with Cardinal Benelli as Secretary of State for the Vatican. There was apparently much corruption that the Pope was about to root out.

Poison was the most efficient way to have his death appear natural. It would leave no tell-tale external signs. Digitalis was the most probable. It would mask the conspiracy. This plan would have had to involve intimate knowledge of Vatican procedures. There would also be no autopsy. Other incriminating and outward signs of foul play would be removed.

The Details:

Cardinal Villot's account was that it was a tragic accident. He alleged that the Pope overdosed on his own medication. This explanation was most improbable and defamatory. It almost insinuated that the Pope, so overwhelmed with this burden of his office, committed suicide! Everything was done to cover up this crime. However, no one would believe in an accidental death. And Cardinal Villot happened to be a Grand Master of the Masonic secret. He concocted a story for Sister Vincenzia who discovered the body. Then he made her take a vow of silence afterwards. She said she found the body in the bathroom, not his bed.

The bottle of Effortil disappeared along with the Pope's glasses and slippers, probably because there were traces of vomiting on them. This was a symptom of digitalis poisoning. Also, the Pope's Will had disappeared. The embalmers were called immediately after Cardinal Villot confirmed the Holy Father's death at 5:30 am. The Cardinal then made Sister Vincenzia take the vow of silence. Dr. Buzzonati (not Prof. Fontana of the Vatican medical service, she should have been called in), confirmed the death and attributed it to acute myocardial infarction. The death occuring at 11 pm last evening (Sept. 28th). This report was made around 6:00 am. A whole hour had passed. Eventually Villot informed the other cardinals from around 6:30 am onward. No sacrament of extreme unction was given! The hypothesis of a sudden death seemed untenable to the personal doctor of the Pope's faithful secretary Don Lorenzi.

In death, the Pope's features were twisted and contorted in agony. The Signoracci brothers, the embalmers, attempted to remodel the face so his death agony would be changed to show a calm expression. Many people, however, had already seen the distorted features before these embalmers did their work.

The sisters who served as maids and domestics, cleaned and polished the Pope's chambers soon after his death. Any evidence, such as fingerprints, was destroyed. Again, vomiting was one of the early symptoms of a digitalis overdose. The secretaries packed up the Pope's clothes, letters, notes and personal mementos. By 6 pm the evening of September 29th, the Pope's 19 rooms of the Papal Apartments had been thoroughly stripped. And the embalmed body would make an autopsy useless. By 11 pm that same evening, practically all traces of his reign had been removed. The memory of his presence in the Vatican had been wiped clean. The alleged assassination was complete. So the murder theory goes.

Many causes for suspicion aroused:

The Pope was in good health, according to his brother Edoardo. He reported that His Holiness was given a clean bill of health after a medical examination three weeks before his death.

A report in Time Magazine - October 9, 1978 - relating an opinion that the untimely death of Pope John Paul I stirred deep suspicions of him being poisoned.

The Third Secret of Fatima, which was never made public, revealed, some authorities say, the outlines of the murder of a Pope.

The Vatican has thwarted any research and suppressed any investigation into this matter from the very beginning.

SUMMARY OF EVENTS:

Early September 1978: Pope John Paul I asks Cardinal Jean Villot, the Secretary of State for the Vatican, to investigate the Vatican Bank operations. He also is considering the reversal of the Church's stand on artificial birth control.

Later that month he presents Cardinal Villot with a list of those to be transferred, reassigned or asked to request for resignation. These lists are persons suspected of being Freemasons (that group called P-2). Cardinal Villot happened to be Grand Master, and his name was at the head of the list. This shift of power would have had a major impact on the existing Vatican hierarchy and would also have affected its financial practices.

September 29, 1978: John Paul I found dead in his bed. Cardinal Villot issues false statements, removes key evidence from John Paul's room and orders the body embalmed before an autopsy can be performed.

FURTHER EVENTS AFTER HIS DEATH:

October 1978: John Paul II replaces the dead Pope. None of Luciani's instructions or edicts are carried out.

January 21, 1979: Murder of Judge Emillio Alessandrini, a magistrate investigating the Banco Ambrosiano activities. Calvi and Sindona have close ties to the Vatican.

March 20, 1979: Murder of Nino Pecorelli, an investigative journalist, exposing membership and dealings of the Freemason's P-2 group.

July 11, 1979: Murder of Giorgio Ambrosioli following his testimony concerning Sindona and Calvi in Vatican business circles.

July 13, 1978: Murder of Lt. Col. Antonio Varisco, head of Rome's security service also investigating the activities of the P-2 group and was speaking with Giorgio Ambrosioli two days before Ambrosioli's death.

July 21, 1979: Murder of Boris Guilano, the Palermo police deputy who spoke to Ambrosioli also two days before his death. This concerned Sindona's money laundering of Mafia money channeled through the Vatican Bank to Switzerland bank accounts.

October 1979: Bomb explodes in the apartment of Enrico Cuccia of Mediobanca and a witness of G. Ambrosioli.

February 2, 1980: The vatican withdraws an agreement to provide videotaped depositions of M. Sindona in his trial in the U.S. on charges of fraud, conspiracy and misappropriation of funds in connection with the collapse of the Franklin National Bank.

May 13, 1980: Attempted suicide of Sindona in jail.

June 13, 1980: Sindona sentenced to 25 years.

July 8, 1980: Attempted suicide of Roberto Calvi, also jailed for fraud.

September 1, 1981: The Vatican Bank acknowledges its controlling interests in a number of banks controlled by Calvi for more than one billion dollars of debt.

January 2, 1981: A group of shareholders in Banco Ambrosiano send a letter to John Paul II exposing connections between the Vatican Bank and Roberto Calvi, P-2 and the Mafia. The letter is never acknowledged.

April 27, 1982: Attempted murder of Roberto Rosone, General Manager of Banco Ambrosiano as he was trying to clean up the bank's operations.

June 17, 1982: Roberto Calvi found hanged to death from a bridge in London. Days later $1.3 billion dollars was found missing from the Banco Ambrosiano, Milan.

October 2, 1982: Guiseppe Dellacha, executive of Banco Ambrosiano found dead from a fall out of one of the bank's windows.

March 23, 1986: Michele Sindona poisoned to death in the Italian jail for which he was serving time for ordering the death of Giorgio Ambrosioli.

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Based upon the evidence and events, only one conclusion is evident. But still, there were no indictments, no subpoenas issued, no trials, no convictions made. It has been twenty five years since the death of Pope John Paul I and the mystery will continue to be debated.
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A poll conducted recently, resulted in 30% of the Italians are convinced that John Paul I was assassinated...(that's 15 million people).
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THE END

I believe this is true Granny,this is amazing,thanks for sharing x

A dog rescued from sea, 3 weeks after the tsunami in Japan,2011

He could tell his own story.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12944317

Thats my Dog granny ..cracking fella he is .. The best thing since sliced bread!

Just read that again. A real tear jerker.

Dogs also respond to the nature of their owners and I know you are a nice guy, and he knows you love him.

Just read the dog stories on this link,really enjoyed them .Thanks for posting.

Cats tonight>

One favorite story...about the cat's power to travel or remember long distances... is about Sugar. Sugar was a cream-colored, part-Persian who was living with a family in Anderson, California. When her family had to move to Oklahoma they felt that Sugar was just too afraid of cars to go through such an ordeal and so they very reluctantly left Sugar behind with a neighbor.

Fourteen months later, in Oklahoma, a cream-colored semi-Persian cat leaped on the shoulder of the woman from Anderson, California while she was working outside her new home. Although the woman thought the cat looked like Sugar, she had her doubts.

Would a stray cat jump happily onto the shoulder of a stranger? Not likely. But it also seemed unlikely that a cat could cross half a continent of desert and mountain ranges!

All doubts were ended, however, when she petted Sugar and felt the unique bone deformity that defined Sugar's left hip. And then she knew for sure it was Sugar when she called the old neighbor in California. Not only did the neighbor remember Sugar's unique bone formation, but she told the Anderson family that Sugar had stayed with her for only two weeks before disappearing! Sugar travelled more than 1,500 miles through land even a mountain lion would find harsh...to a place she had never been....to get back to the family she loved and missed.


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Hi granny
When my grandad died` my gran moved in with her sister other side of Liverpool .. she took granddads cat with her but it kept walkin back to the old house atleast 7 miles away or 70 cat miles .. how do they do that! She was Siamese we had one of its brothers for 14 years until he passed away .. he was a legend!

It is really remarkable how they do find their way. Another mystery we can't yet explain.
A nice story Van. Aren't Siamese cats said to be extra intelligent, with mysterious powers?

They are clever granny and very vocal cats`differant pitch notes for differant things .. I was his chief translator
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wise words from charlie there granny

Sorry Van, only just seen your last post.....so long ago.

Try this, it's not really a story but amazingly interesting.

[youtube]ysa5OBhXz-Q[/youtube]

Enjoyed that granny,who would of thought that dogs could of made a massive change to that beautiful environment, for a minute there I thought someone had hacked my account as it was so long ago lol,
I will try and think of some more story's to tell.

Bees who pay their respects

Margaret Bell, who kept bees in Leintwardine, about 7 miles from her home in Ludlow, Shropshire (England), died in June 1994. Soon after her funeral, mourners were amazed to see hundreds of bees settle on the corner of the street opposite the house where she had lived for 26 years. The bees stayed for an hour before buzzing off over the rooftops. The local press ran a photograph of the bees hanging on the wall in a cluster.


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Phantom Car Crash

On December 11, 2002, two motorists called police to report seeing a car veering off the A3 trunk road with headlights blazing at Burpham in Surrey. A thorough search uncovered a car concealed in dense undergrowth and the long-dead driver nearby. It turned out that the crash had actually happened five months earlier when the driver, Christopher Chandler, had been reported missing by his brother.